


939 Years

by everly_2



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Asahi as hajime's friend who works at a bakery, Hinata as Oikawa's little brother, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shirabu's just a surprise appearance honestly, Slow Burn, Takeda-sensei as hajime's uncle, Yachi as Takeda's daughter/hajime's cousin, coach Ukai jr as Takeda's bf, evil dude! ushijima, goblin au, goblin! oikawa, goblin's bride! iwaizumi, grim reaper/emperor! kageyama, irihata as the grandpa but u can't rly tell, like srsly im sorry guys, makki as Deok-hwa, pls don't imagine Oikawa as a middle aged dude cuz im actually writing him looking like the anime, samshin grandma! suga, sunny! hinata
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2020-07-09 17:44:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19891810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everly_2/pseuds/everly_2
Summary: When a powerful desire indwells in things touched by mortal souls, they become goblins.This sword that has been stained with the blood of thousands, and its owner’s blood as well—how could it not happen?Only the goblin’s bride will pull out that sword. If the sword is pulled, may it return to nothing and be at peace.---Oikawa Tooru has been on this earth for 939 years when he meets a grumpy high schooler who catches his attention and, well, his heart.aka Oikawa is an immortal goblin and Iwaizumi is the only one who can help him.





	1. 37 Years

_"When a powerful desire indwells in things touched by mortal souls, they become goblins._

_"This sword that has been stained with the blood of thousands, and its owner’s blood as well—how could it not happen?_

_"Only the goblin’s bride can pull out the sword. Once the sword is drawn, everything will turn to ashes, and peace will be granted._

"Some malicious oracle it was... When goblins are brought back, they come to this world and can be found everywhere, but nowhere. Even now, they can be–"

A woman bursts out laughing, interrupting the old man, who makes a face and attempts to redeem himself. "What are you laughing about?"

Iwaizumi Akane muffles her laughter and gathers her breath to say, " 'The goblin is looking for his bride... which happens to be me.' Is that it?" She giggles again, rocking on her heels.

It isn't a rare occurrence for the old man who sold vegetables, jewellery and various odds and ends on the bridge to stop a person browsing the wares just to tell a story.

Akane visits the grey-haired man almost every day, and as a result he has taken to telling her a story every time she comes around, if only just because she's usually the only one to stop and listen to the whole thing.

He sniffs and mumbles to himself, "I may not look like it, but I was a man-eater in my days." In a louder voice, he rebuts, "I might not be here anymore the next time you come around," and proceeds to pick up some vegetables and prepare them, cutting off roots and wilted leaves.

Akane pouts and replies, "I envy you," picking up a pink ribbon clip and trying it on, admiring her reflection in a small handheld mirror.

"I must be going senile. I shouldn't say that in front of a single mother." He sighs, and Akane frowns, taking the clip out of her curly black hair, "You're mean."

"Mean? How much of a discount did I give you on your vegetables?" He pauses for a while, then tacks on, "The man who left you is the mean one."

Akane cracks a tiny smile and concedes. "That's true." Looking back down at the items, she continues the conversation, "That was a sad story, by the way."

Continuing to prepare the vegetables, the old man scoffs and says, "Sad? What's there to be sad about?"

Shrugging, Akane replies, "It's a romantic, yet tragic curse... having to look for a bride just to be killed." She sifts through a box of jewellery, and comes up with a jade ring with intricate silver designs around it. "The creator is evil."

"It's always been that way. It's selfish and envious. It's very self-centred." The old man rattles on, and Akane watches him silently with steel grey eyes, before adding in her own opinion, "That sounds just like someone I know."

Sighing, she puts the ring back into the box and hands it to the old man with a smile, before gathering her things and tightening the red scarf around her neck. "I should go now. Thanks for the story. Make sure to be here the next time I come!" She smiles and giggles to herself before standing and starting to walk away.

The old man drops the vegetables as if realising something, and quickly reaches out to grab her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

Surprised, Akane turns to look at him, and he stares into her eyes as he says, "At a moment of life and death, make a wish with powerful desire. A soft-hearted creator might grant you that wish."

\---

_He is water, fire, and wind, and also light and dark. And once, he was human._

A man in full black armour stands on a battlefield, holding himself up with his blade, blood-stained and bone-weary, as war and death dance around him.

His men are dying, but so are their enemies. His breath starts to even out, and he looks up as a volley of arrows begin to rain around him, striking down soldiers and steeds alike.

An enemy soldier falls on him, and he immediately readies himself to fight, but upon closer inspection the man is already dead, with an arrow through his abdomen. He heaves the body off of him and clambers to his feet with a grimace.

There are war cries and yells approaching, and a wall of cavalry thunders towards him. He turns to look at his katana, stuck upright in the grassy soil beside him, thrumming with power and glistening crimson with the blood of previous enemies.

_People considered him a god._

With a scowl, he rips an arrow out of his bicep and draws his blade, facing the warriors with nothing but anger, defiance, and the katana his master gave him.

_He was covered in red blood as he attacked the enemy, truly a god of war._

In moments, they are upon him, and he spins into action, his blade tearing through man after man as he carves a path in the horde.

There is no doubt. This man is the general of the Imperial Palace's bushi*, and a member of the Oikawa family, Oikawa Tooru.

He fights now on the field with his chonmage** bare, having either discarded or lost his helmet in the heat of the raging battle.

Through the mist of blood and sweat, he sees a man, presumably an enemy general, cutting down his soldiers, just as he downs another enemy, and levels his gaze at him.

The man pauses in the bloodshed and meets his gaze for but a second before another bushi with the Imperial colours of turquoise and black rushes up to him. He cuts him down without a second thought, and across multiple scenes of battle, Tooru starts to prowl towards him.

The enemy general turns to flee, cutting down another one of Tooru's bushi in the process, and a scowl clenches the muscles in Tooru's face as he breaks into a jog.

The man trips and falls, and a dead body lands on him. He shoves the corpse away and attempts escape once more, but Tooru has seized a steed, and starts towards him at a gallop.

The horse thunders through puddles saturated with so much blood they are a thick crimson colour, and the enemy general sprints away from him as fast as he can in his armour.

They race out into the plain, away from the raging sounds of war, but Tooru remains immersed in his battle rage as he gallops towards the general.

In one fell swoop, his blade comes whirring through the air and cuts clean through the running general's neck with a spray of blood and a cut-off scream.

\---

The procession of soldiers makes its way to the gates of the imperial palace, winding through streets where citizens cheer and bow to welcome them home after their long campaign.

Tooru is, naturally, at the head of the procession, smiling kindly and greeting the citizens as he passes, astride a chestnut stallion. His second-in-command, Matsukawa Issei, follows with a grin on his face.

When they reach the palace gates, they dismount their steeds to face the ranks of soldiers guarding it, and Issei hollers to the guards to open the gates. "General Oikawa Tooru has returned victoriously!"

His shout trails off into proud chuckles, but that too soon halts, as the captain of the gate guard orders, "Oikawa Tooru, take off your armour and receive the royal decree."

The soldiers quiet down and start glancing around nervously, but Tooru stands his ground and levels his gaze at the captain. Issei, outraged at the obvious disrespect towards his general, hefts his katana and grits, "How dare you? Try saying that again. How dare such a lowly soldier like you call the General–!"

Before he finishes his sentence, the captain, holding his ground, yells, "Oikawa Tooru, the rebel leader. Take off your armour."

Now, Issei grips the hilt of his katana with real threat, and he repeats himself with the same anger and incredulity, "How dare you!", half-drawing his blade before Tooru raises hand to stop him.

Issei halts his movements and keeps his gaze trained on his friend and his general, as he says, "I heard you the first time. Wait."

True to his words, Tooru begins to remove his armour, stripping away the protection bit by bit until he stands, as proud and strong as ever, in his plain black kimono and hakama. Behind him, his soldiers remove their armour as well, the pieces falling to the floor in a steady stream of thuds.

"Is that good?" Tooru hasn't once taken his eyes off the captain, and now his gaze hardens while his body is more vulnerable.

However, the captain's reply is "You have committed high treason. Lay down your sword, kneel down, and receive the royal command."

At those words, Issei thunders "I shall cut off your tongue! How could he commit high treason? Are you insane? Are you crazy?" The last words are yelled at the captain, and while he does not respond, a group of archers rush forward at the top of the gate, bows drawn and arrows aimed without mercy at the soldiers.

The citizens that had come out to welcome the general home mutter amongst themselves as they duck down and search for cover, unsure of the bloodshed to come. The foot soldiers shuffle their feet, uncertain as well, but Tooru and Issei do not waver in their stances.

Issei might have kept his stance, but he still looks at the archers with palpable discomfort, and whispers to Tooru, "General.."

The captain repeats himself once more, "You have committed high treason. Lay down your sword, kneel down–"

He doesn't finish his sentence, because before he can, Tooru has drawn his katana with a frown on his face, and he says "I will meet tennou***. Step aside."

"Oikawa Tooru, you–"

"If you try to stop me, you'll die." Tooru says it with determination and anger in his voice, and continues forward. "Step aside."

But, as he makes his steady approach to the gates, the archers release their arrows, and they fall swift and deadly into the crowd of soldiers, striking down many and causing others to cower in fear.

People die as they turn to flee, and some innocent citizens are wounded in the volley, falling to the ground with others in a cacophony of wails and screams.

Tooru turns to witness the death caused by his actions with wide brown eyes and a sweeping gaze. Issei, with an arrow in his left bicep, staggers to his feet and draws his katana, yelling, "How dare you? We have fought three days and nights in tennou's name! We are just returning from the pit of destruction! How dare you treat us like this?"

As he stands with his blade drawn and ready, trembling with exhaustion and anger, a voice comes from inside the gates, "Open up the gates."

At the command, the tall wooden doors open. "Stay here. I'll be back soon." Tooru's words are heeded, albeit reluctantly, by Issei, and so he stays behind while his best friend walks through the gates and the guards to a view he's seen multiple times.

The walkway and stairs to the imperial palace are lined with torches and banners. The gates close behind Tooru as he stops in the middle of the large open courtyard, staring in front of him at the stairs where his younger brother stands in clothes of mourning.

Behind his brother, Shouyou, and up another flight of stairs, is the current Emperor of Japan, Kageyama Tobio, Tooru's brother-in-law and Shouyou's husband.

Beside Tobio stands his advisor, a tall, broad shouldered man who seems more suited to the battlefield than to playing babysitter to the young ruler. That is Ushijima Wakatoshi, and now he is whispering into Tobio's ear, "Tennou reigns over his people, and it is said that tennou is controlled by a divinity. Apparently, this divinity refers to Oikawa Tooru."

Tobio's young face is contorted into a scowl, and he glares across the courtyard at Tooru, who meets his gaze levelly and continues to walk forward.

As he approaches the stairs, Ushijima resumes his whispering in the emperor's ear, "The news of his victory deceives your people, and his power is a continuous threat to the royal family. You must govern strictly over this man."

With that said, Ushijima turns to face Tooru as well with a dark glint in his eye as Tooru strides towards them.

_He clearly saw the enemies' swords which threatened his life. However, he did not see the jealous young emperor's fear._

Tooru starts up the stairs.

_Nor did he realise that it was the sharpest sword that threatened his life._

He draws even with his brother on the first platform. Shouyou smiles gently at him, enforcing Tooru's drive to confront Tobio. He faces the emperor once again, and says, "Do you have to go this far?"

Tobio, standing at the top of the stairs, retorts sharply, "That's why you should come no further. Stop. Whatever it may be, just stop. If you die now as a rebel, I will let everyone live except you."

Shouyou looks at the ground, and shimmering tears form in his eyes as Tobio continues, "However, if you take another step, I will kill everyone and lay their bodies before you the moment you take that step."

Tooru's eyes widen by just a fraction, but they narrow again as soldiers manhandle other members of the Oikawa family, bound with rope, into kneeling positions.

He looks to Tobio, and finds no trace of the young sprite of a boy who used to say he wanted to be just like 'Tooru-nii' when he grew up. In his searching gaze, there is hesitation, and Shouyou, sensing his brother's dilemma, says, "Go, general."

Tooru turns to look at him, his brightly shining little brother, now in mourning robes and with a defeated expression. Shouyou swallows hard and faces him, saying, "I am...fine."

Tobio glares at them from his place at the top of the stairs as Tooru halts with pain, uncertainty, defeat and misery flashing through his eyes and his voice.

"Chugu****, I–" Shouyou cuts him off with a sad smile, "I know. I truly understand. If this is the end, then it shall be my destiny." Tooru looks at him, small and swamped by the not-yet-tailored mourning robes, orange hair done up with gold ornaments, golden eyes flashing with unshed tears. He is Tooru's precious little brother, his only remaining direct family.

Gritting his teeth with suppressed rage, Tobio narrows his eyes as Shouyou smiles at Tooru.

"You should go. Do not stop. Take your step towards tennou." Tooru tears his gaze from Shouyou, and looks at the young emperor once more with blood on his face and tears in his eyes. He can see that the black-haired ruler is angry, but he does not comprehend why.

Jaw set, Tooru tightens his grip on the katana Tobio himself had given him years before, and starts to walk forward, passing Shouyou just as his tears overflow to slip down his face.

Tobio grits his teeth and orders, "This is treason. Kill everyone in his family. This is my command as the emperor!" But Tooru's gaze does not waver, even as an arrow flies through the air to embed itself with perfect aim into Shouyou's chest, even as Shouyou crumples to the floor behind him, as soldiers slaughter the people who raised him as their own.

Their bodies fall one by one, and when one group is finished, more are dragged out to face similar fates. But in this group, a face stands out to him, twisted in pain and fear.

This man trained him in his blood and sweat, fed him in famine and plague, taught him all the things he should and shouldn't do. Tooru stops, and yells for the soldiers to do the same just before they can land a killing blow on him.

The soldiers pause mid-swing, and Wakatoshi, surprisingly, says "What are you doing? Make him kneel down." At his command, a palace bushi forces Tooru to his knees with a well-aimed strike at his knees.

Tooru falls, just barely catching himself with his blade, and peers up at Tobio from his position, kneeling on the ground below him.

In the distance, and getting closer, a man yells "General!", and Issei runs up the stairs, pausing in front of Shouyou's prone body and taking in the various scenes of murder around him. He falls to his knees and yells in a hoarse voice, "Tennou! How can you do this!? Aren't you afraid of divine punishment?!"

Tobio just scoffs and raises an eyebrow. "The divinity is not on your side." He says the words condescendingly, as if Issei was stupid to believe that the gods would favour him and Tooru.

Meanwhile, as Tooru takes a ragged breath and stares at Tobio, Wakatoshi continues, "The glaring eyes of the criminal are troubling tennou. As the criminal refuses to perform seppuku, we will behead him instead."

The bushi that had forced Tooru to kneel now stands in front of him, and he readies his blade, then swings down decisively, only to be met by Tooru's sudden and instantaneous deflection. As the soldier falls to the side, Tooru just barely catches himself, and when the bushi attempts to stand once more, he says, "The task is not yours."

Issei rushes to Tooru, repeating his title over and over again as he kneels beside his best friend. Tooru turns to him and says, "I'd like you...to take care of my end." As he finishes his sentence, a whimpering cry escapes from Issei.

Tooru slowly hands his katana to Issei, who looks at it with eyes full of misery and denial before taking hold of the hilt. As he trembles with suppressed sobs, Tooru rests one of his hands on Issei's and nods slowly, jerkily, at him.

Bowing his head, Issei clutches the katana and says, "I shall follow your order," his voice trembling with sorrow.

His normally narrowed eyes are now wide and welling with tears as he rises to kneel before Tooru. He sobs once more, says, "Please forgive me," and then raises the sword to Tooru's chest.

Tooru straightens his spine, he will accept his fate with dignity at the hands of his best friend. Issei says, "I will follow you soon," and then drives the blade deep into Tooru's chest.

Blood wells up and bubbles out of Tooru's mouth, but he remains kneeling, albeit more hunched over, and watches Issei as he weeps. He sees the bushi's sword come down, and then Issei falls to the side, with a leering gash in his back.

As he kneels there, with the katana he had wielded through hundreds of campaigns driven through his chest, Tooru hears Wakatoshi declare, "No one shall retrieve the traitor's dead body. Leave it in the fields so that animals can feed on it and the citizens can see what happens when one commits treason. This is the royal command!"

Tobio pauses at the top of the stairs, an unreadable expression on his face as he glances first at Shouyou's body, and then at Tooru's, the two brothers in their dying throes. Then, he turns and walks away, with his servants hurrying to keep up with him.

Tooru, with the willpower that had served him in his years of climbing up the military ladder, turns slowly to look at Shouyou one more time.

The orange-haired pipsqueak that had been the one unchanging factor in Tooru's life is now lying on the ground with his lifeblood staining the stone, and his eyelids flutter as he takes slow, shallow breaths before closing his eyes and stilling, one last tear running down his face.

His hand lays outstretched, as if reaching out towards the stairs. Tooru wonders if he was reaching for his older brother, or for his husband. On his hand is a delicate jade ring with swirling silver designs, and Tooru racks his brain trying to figure out if he had seen it before.

Before he finds out, the world rocks and his eyes flutter shut.

\---

"May the soul of the general rest in peace."

"Bless his soul."

"May his soul rest in peace."

"Dear Almighty, bless the general's soul."

"General..."

Tooru lies in a field of wilted sunflowers, but he doesn't know that. All he knows is the sun shining down on him at its brightest point, the villagers' pleas and blessings, and that it's midday when he last closes his eyes.

_Do not pray to anyone._

_No one is listening._

His master's blade remains with him, still stained with blood, although no one knows if it is his or the blood of the enemies he had slain before returning home.

\---

*bushi - soldiers or samurai in ancient Japan (singular and plural are both spelled 'bushi')

**chonmage - Japanese topknot usually worn by samurai (it's ugly in the pics u find online but pls just imagine Tooru in a man-bun with like a flowing mane or smthing)

***tennou - his imperial majesty in Japanese (title for emperor)

****chugu - your majesty or your highness, used to refer to the empress consort, the emperor's wife which has not birthed an heir (in this case, shouyou)


	2. 920 Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> makki is a tiny sassy boi and hajime is born

1998, Tokyo

A man wearing a black leather trench coat and holding a black fedora walks down a footpath on one of the rare foggy days in Tokyo. He stops at a road crossing for a few moments, staring straight ahead, before stepping onto the road.

He walks a few steps deliberately, as if he has all the time in the world, and then gets hit head-on by a car.

However, instead of the man being flung away from the force of the collision, he remains in the exact same position while the car nearly flips rear over front.

When the car comes crashing down on all four wheels, the boot opens and the driver slams his head against the steering wheel.

He gets out of the car with blood running down his face from a cut on his forehead, and stumbles over to the man while saying, "You little idiot! Are you blind? Do you want to die..." His voice trails off as he reaches the front of his car.

The bumper is completely mangled, the hood and front of the car dented around the man, who stands still, facing the same direction.

The driver back-pedals a few steps as he takes in the scene, no normal person would have been able to do that. "What are you?" His voice is trembling, a far cry from how arrogant and angry it had been earlier.

The man turns to face the driver, and his dark blue eyes make direct contact with the driver's as he says, "A boar."

The driver's eyes remain locked with his, but they look faraway, as if he is seeing something that isn't quite there. "What?"

Stepping out of the indent in the car, the man moves closer to the driver, and says more vehemently, "You just hit a boar." The driver doesn't reply, but just stands there, still with the glazed look in his eyes.

The man puts his fedora on, covering his sleek black hair, and steps away in a cloud of black smoke.

A car pulls up across the scene of the crash, and a man hurries out to ask the driver if he's okay, wondering whether he should call the police.

The driver seemingly snaps back into reality, and stammers, "I-I hit a-a boar." The other man stares at him like he's crazy, if he really encountered a boar that was angry enough to completely destroy his car like that, he wouldn't be standing there.

"I-I mean... a boar popped out of nowhere!" The driver himself doesn't seem to believe it, so confused, the other man asks, "A boar? Here? Where did it go?" The driver looks around, as if only now realising that the boar has disappeared.

All of a sudden, some passers-by scream, and a man points to the boot of the car, stuttering, "Th-That– Look at that!" A woman who had collapsed at the sight is helped up, and the man hurries around to see for himself.

"Th-There's... There's a person..."

"What happened?"

The pedestrians exclaim and shuffle back, uncomfortable and shocked. Someone calls the police. Meanwhile, a woman wearing a grey coat and a black and white plaid skirt peers at the scene from the back.

As she looks, closer, she starts to recognise the clothes. Grey coat, plaid skirt. She screams and falls to the ground, gasping and wrapping her arms around herself. There's no mistaking it as she looks at the ring on the hand of the corpse, then at her own hand, with that very same ring on it.

"Why-Why am I... there?"

A person steps closer to her, and says, "Matsumoto Izumi, 25 years old. Born on April 3, 1973." The woman slowly turns, and sees the man with the black coat reading her details from a card.

"Died at 8:32 a.m. on May 1, 1998. Cause of death is suffocation." He crouches down next to her, and says, "It's you, right?"

The woman stares at him with fear and misery roiling in the depths of her dark brown eyes. Her reply? "Yes."

\---

The man sits at a table with the woman, and he pours a cup of tea for her as she looks around, taking in the elegant setting that seemed to be like a normal tearoom, albeit with fancy lights and beautiful latticed walls.

There are various tea sets around the room, seemingly from various different points in time and place. The man finishes pouring the tea, and carefully sets it on a coaster in front of her.

Now, her attention flicks back to the cup, and the man in front of her. He sits poised, still wearing the black coat, with a white button up and black tie underneath.

"Drink it. It'll remove your memories from your life."

She looks down at the tea, lightly steaming, and traces the rim of the cup with her fingers. The man stares at her with a neutral expression on his face, half-expecting something and half-wanting to get it over with.

"If I don't drink this, what will happen?" The man replies almost immediately, as if it's a question he's heard many times before.

"You'll regret not drinking it. I hope you don't regret anything after you die."

\---

There are wind chimes hanging from one of the ceiling beams, and now they ring lightly.

The man is standing facing a window, carefully wiping down a cup. He walks out of the room with the cup, to a massive wall of pigeonholes, almost all of them holding cups.

Once he's set the cup in one of the empty pigeonholes, he walks back to the tearoom, and puts on his fedora while glancing out the window.

The street isn't very busy. One of the pedestrians is a man wearing all black, carrying a duffel bag of the same colour. He slows while walking by a certain section of the grey brick wall beside him, and turns to look at it.

Inside the tearoom, the man pauses, still looking out the window, as he sees the man with wavy brown hair in black. They make eye contact, and he says, "Goblin?"

Outside, the other man says, "Grim reaper?", seemingly staring at a blank wall. "What a vulgar hat you're wearing."

Pushing up the brim of his hat, the grim reaper glares resolutely at the goblin, who just shakes his head in mock disappointment and walks away, leaving the black-haired man to grit his teeth and leave as well.

\---

The house is cold and empty, with cloth draped over furniture and candles unlit. But with every step the goblin takes, candles light in succession, and the cloth drapes fly away to reveal antiquated valuables.

The tall man stops in the middle of the room, looking around, before dropping his duffel bag.

From behind him, an old, hoarse voice says, "Danna-sama*!" He turns to the source of the call with a smile on his face, and an old man hurries to him, bringing a kindergartener with him.

"It's been 20 years. How have you been?" The old man bows with a kind smile on his face as the pink-haired child looks on in confusion.

The goblin smiles back at them, and asks in return, "How have you been?"

The old man raises his head and sighs,"I've grown old through the years. You are still as dashing as ever!" He chuckles to himself, but the child interjects, "He isn't that dashing..."

The two men startle, and look at the child. The old man shushes him, and says, "This is my grandson whom I wrote to you about. Introduce yourself." He pats the boy on the back, but instead of doing as his grandfather told him to, the child says, "Who is this oji-san**?"

The man's eyebrow and smile twitches a bit, but he keeps his composure and says, "You must be Takahiro. I will be your uncle, your brother, your son, and grandson." He crouches down to make eye contact with the boy before continuing, "It's nice to meet you."

The boy pauses for a few seconds, before crossing his arms and saying, "What silliness is that? You're strange." His grandfather immediately says, "Watch your mouth!", and the boy and goblin both look to him as he apologises to the man, saying, "I'm sorry about that, he is the only son in four generations so he has been spoiled..."

The boy pouts, and turns back to the goblin to find him looking at him. "But you..." The boy replies, confused, "Me? What?"

"There was a man born in Nippon*** who died in a foreign land. He is your ancestor. You look just like him." The boy interjects with a raised eyebrow, "How? Was that ancestor good-looking?" Just as he smiles, his grandfather scolds him again and tells him to be quiet, saying, "I do not know why he is so rude..."

He creaks into a bow, as the goblin smiles and says, "It is fine. No one in your family ever disappointed me." He says the last sentence to the boy, who immediately replies, "By the way, why are you speaking down**** to my grandfather?"

"Do you want to die?" The child says it in a protective way, but his grandfather immediately steps in and tells him, for the third time, to watch his mouth when speaking to his elders.

But the goblin just smiles, and he is reminded of the day, centuries earlier, that he first met the child's ancestor.

\---

An old man stands before the general's body, and he bows to the ground in front of the sword as a young child stands beside him.

"My sincerest apologies for coming so late." The old man's voice is hoarse and raspy, and he sobs dryly before continuing, "I was ill all this time."

He heaves a breath, sagging sideways, and the child immediately steps forward to help him, but the old man waves him away. "I think it is time for me to go. This is my grandson who will serve you from now on, danna-sama," as he speaks, the old man gestures to the child, who just stares warily at the sword before saying, "Grandpa, are you saying this katana is our danna-sama?"

The katana, with the cloth wrapped around its hilt stained dark brown with copious amounts of long-dried blood, hums and shivers in the slight breeze, as if noting the child's disbelief.

The boy steps back, clutching his grandfather's robes, as lightning crackles in the dark night sky and the blade trembles and a strong wind blows through the field of sunflowers.

_The souls of your people are saving you._

_However, the blood of thousands are on your sword._

_The blood of your enemies, who were also descendants of deities._

_You shall be immortal, and watch your loved ones die._

_You will not forget a single death._

_This is the gift I give you and the punishment you shall receive._

In the field, the child and his grandfather cower in astonishment and fear as the silhouette of a man, with a sword impaled through his chest, appears against the light of the moon and the lightning.

_Only the goblin's fated pair can remove the sword._

_Once the sword is removed, you may return to ashes and be at peace._

The sword, crackling with energy and swirling with turquoise flames, is invisible to their eyes.

The man turns to face the duo, and when the old man sees his face, his jaw drops and he falls into a bow once more, exclaiming, "Danna-sama!"

The man regards them for a moment, then speaks in a voice that was once velvety and smooth, now hoarse and dry from months of disuse, "There is somewhere I must go."

\---

Wakatoshi is walking down the steps of what was once Shouyou's chamber with Tobio's far-removed cousin, Shirabu, when Tooru approaches.

The duo are smirking to themselves, with Wakatoshi purposefully making himself shorter to give Shirabu the sense of being greater as the royal advisor feeds lies to the fourth remaining living member of the royal family and warps him as he had warped Tobio.

His silhouette is barely visible in the corridor before them, but Shirabu notices him and asks, "Who are you?" with narrowed eyes as he steps forward.

Tooru has never liked the man, he had never once showed any semblance of familial love or even affection to Tobio, who had been starved of love and kindness as a child.

"How dare you enter the imperial palace! Who are you? Why do you have such strong bloodlust*****?" As Shirabu advances, Wakatoshi hangs back, wary, and he frowns at Tooru as if starting to realise who he was.

As Wakatoshi's eyes widen with realisation, Shirabu strides forward, spitting, "Why you..."

Before Wakatoshi can utter a word, Shirabu is already crashing through the lattice wall, leaving Tooru alone with Wakatoshi in the chamber.

Wakatoshi stares, wide-eyed, at Tooru, wondering if he had really been a god all along and had come back to punish him for his evil deeds. His gravelly voice rasps as he voices his thoughts. "Y-You are..."

As if proving to Wakatoshi that yes, it was indeed, him, he was sent flying through the air to Tooru, who grasped his neck with one hand and inhuman strength, keeping him off the ground and choking off his air.

Held in the air, Wakatoshi grasps Tooru's hand with the strength of a warrior who had once belonged on the battlefield and the desperation of a man losing his life as he chokes and tries to speak, just barely managing to say a few words and half-finished sentences like "traitor", "you cannot do this" and "the emperor will–".

But before he dies, Wakatoshi whispers one last sentence, stilted and stuttered, just loud enough for Tooru to hear over his gasps and wheezes.

"You should have followed the shiratori-"

Scowling, Tooru flings Wakatoshi through the wall as well, and he hits the ground outside with a thump, a wheeze, and the last vestiges of his life slipping through his fingers.

Having dealt with the two witnesses and his greatest enemy, Tooru climbs the steps to Shouyou's bed, where his body now lies, covered in folded plates of orange-gold paper in preparation for his cremation.

Tears well up in his eyes as he stares at the small lump underneath the papers, papers that were the exact colour of his hair, the small lump of the body of his younger brother.

"I am...too late." He says it with an air of finality and regret. It was his actions that led to the death of his brother, and even though he had seen him take his last breath, he had hoped that he would still be alive, healthy and happy as he always was with Tobio.

He had hoped that Tobio wouldn't have to lose the last person he loved and who had loved him back.

\---

In the field of sunflowers, the child kneels before his grandfather's grave, sobbing as he stacks another stone on top of it with small hands, cut and bleeding.

As he whimpers, he calls for his grandfather repeatedly, as if hoping he would come back.

Instead of his grandfather, Tooru approaches. The boy has just lost a family member, his last family member, as Tooru was off checking things he knew were true, and with the death of Shouyou, he knew him and the boy were together in that way. They were both alone.

Tooru kneels down beside the child, who doesn't seem to notice him there, and places a stone on the grave, next to the one the child had just stacked on.

The boy turns to look at him with tears staining his face and a red nose, and Tooru says, as if speaking to the grave and the child's grandfather, "You must be my first punishment..."

Still with ragged breathing from his pained tears, the child shuffles to face Tooru and says, "Please... let me bow to you."

As Tooru turns to the child, he prostrates himself in front of him in a low bow, with his forehead brushing the ground, and Tooru's eyes moisten.

Sitting upright once more, the boy sniffles and says in a trembling voice, "I shall serve you from this moment forth. It was grandpa's dying wish..."

Watching the young child with pained eyes, Tooru says, reprimanding himself, "I was blinded by revenge, and did not ask how you were doing..." His voice cracks slightly at the end of his sentence, and he swallows before continuing, "Will you still... do as you say?"

The boy nods, and the two of them share a silent moment together, mourning the loss of their loved ones and preparing themselves to start their lives anew together.

\---

Oikawa Tooru sits high above the city, listening to the late-night sounds of Tokyo.

There are cars honking, sirens wailing, babies crying, and all sorts of people talking and shouting and screaming.

The wind ruffles his brown hair, and he sighs before taking a sip from the can of beer in his hands. He wasn't usually one to drink beer, but today he was celebrating his return to Tokyo after nearly 20 years away.

Eyes trained far below to the streets and highways and the nameless people on them, he mutters to himself, "It's good to be back."

In the various things and events he hears, there is the sound of car brakes screeching and a body falling to the ground.

A man is sitting in the driver seat of a car, and he rolls down to window with a scowl to take a look at the woman lying on the ground. She is hurt but still alive, scrabbling at the snow-covered land.

Rolling up the window, the driver makes his escape. He will pay for the things he has done later.

The black-haired woman coughs out blood, and it coagulates on the snow as she moves her hands feebly, trying to reach her purse.

Looking around with clouded eyes, she sees no one, but calls for help anyways, the words rasping around her hacking coughs and sobs.

It seems as if no one is there to help her, but on top of an office building not so far away, a goblin hears all. As he sits on the glowing neon sign, Tooru averts his eyes from the scene to finish off his drink. It is not his place to meddle with the lives and deaths of people.

_If there is a divine being in this world, please... save me..._

The words worm their way into Tooru's heart and mind, and he taps his fingers on the can.

_Please..._

_Anyone, please..._

Tooru sets the can down and turns to the scene again. The woman is but a speck to him, the only discernible thing being the bright red scarf around her neck, but her hands are trembling and scraping on the snow as she fights to stay alive.

With a set to his jaw, Tooru slips off the side of the sign and jumps, only to appear in front of the woman in a cloud of turquoise fire and smoke.

The black-haired woman stares up at him with reverence and hope, choking out one last cry, "Help me..."

Looking down at the prone woman, Tooru sighs and says, "I am that 'anyone'." Now with a distinct hope, the woman scrabbles a bit more on the ground, saying, "Please. Please save me."

Her hand slides protectively to her stomach as she coughs and draws in a ragged breath.

"Well...it's my principle not to meddle with the life and death of mortals." Tooru's eyes examine her situation as she pleads again for his help, and he tilts his head to the side when he hears something strange.

There is a second heartbeat within her.

"Please... I can't die like this..." Her pleas trail off to sobs and hacking coughs, and Tooru notes, "You're not asking for your own life..."

"Please..." Her breath comes feeble, but she uses all her strength to say, "At least my child..." before she curls up in a coughing fit and loses her hold on life.

Tooru sighs a deep breath, and looks to the side for a moment before turning decisively to the woman's body. "You're very fortunate to come across a soft-hearted deity."

"I just don't feel like watching anyone die tonight." He says it as if to justify his actions to himself before he steps forward, crouches down, and lets turquoise flames wrap around his hand, which he holds over her face.

When the woman opens her eyes and takes a heaving breath, the strange man is nowhere to be seen, and a nearby cherry blossom tree is blooming, showering her with a soft deluge of petals in the place of the light snow that had occurred earlier.

_\---_

Black boots sound across the snow-covered parking lot, and a man in a black trench coat and black fedora stops in front of a just-dried pool of blood.

The two cards in his hand say 'Iwaizumi Akane, 27 years old' and 'Unnamed, unborn'. His dark-blue eyes flick from the cards to the pool of blood, and his eyes narrow into a frown as he checks the time on his watch.

Looking back at the pool of blood, the grim reaper says, "Snow, rain..." Then turns to look at the blooming cherry blossom tree. "Flowers."

\---

The child is born, red-faced and with a small shock of straight black hair. He clenches and unclenches his fist in his sleep as his mother watches him with a relieved smile on her face, rocking him against her chest.

"Is he the goblin's bride?"

"The bride?"

"He is branded."

"He is the bride."

"It's him."

The ghosts whisper and mutter amongst themselves outside the hospital room while Iwaizumi Akane rocks her child, Iwaizumi Hajime, in his sleep.

\---

*danna-sama - most of you might know this already, but this means lord or master in a old fashioned way (it'll be how the grandpa addresses tooru most of the time)

**oji-san - uncle or grandpa, basically ajusshi in Japanese if u know what ajusshi means (makki doesn't usually call oikawa that, it's just because it's his first time meeting him)

***nippon - Japanese for Japan, interchangeable with Nihon

****informal tone - idk how to say this but like you know theres -san and -chan and all that stuff? Its like formal tone and informal tone, so at this point in time hajime is using informal tone with makki's grandpa, and makki finds that rude because to him it is obvious that his grandfather is older and should therefore be treated with more respect.

*****Bloodlust - idk, the subs said "why are you emitting such a negative energy" but I just decided to put bloodlust instead cuz the negative energy thing is a bit weird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg guys im so sorry I had this chapter done last week and I was going to post it on Sunday but then my laptop broke ;-; and I just got it back
> 
> Yes I did the 'you should've come to shiratorizawa'   
> no im not sorry  
> So idk who the guy next to the evil dude was in the drama itself but like I just presumed it was some high-up dude since he was like bowing to him n shit so yeah?? I guess?? And ye I made it Shirabu not bcuz I hv smthing against him or anything but like idk who else to put lol
> 
> Also yes I know bride is supposed to be for girls but like it can be gender-neutral in some languages so im just gonna leave it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi's mom dies, Kageyama meets baby iwachan, Makki being a chaebol, sneak peek of iwachan's school life AND MOST IMPORTANTLY OIKAWA AND IWACHAN FIRST MEETING WOOT

2007

Akane walks down the dock with a bag in her hand, having just bought some fish to cook for that night's dinner. She smiles kindly at the fishermen as they work, and approaches the young boy crouched on the ground, trying to catch a beetle.

The cold ocean wind blows, and the boy's clothes flutter in the wind, the collar of his jacket dipping down to reveal a strange dark birthmark that looked like smoke on his neck.

He smiles when the small brown beetle rests in the palm of his hand, green eyes sparkling.

"What kind of rice cake do you want for this year's birthday, Hajime?" Akane stops beside her son, and smiles at him when he turns to face her.

"Honey rice cake? Rainbow rice cake?" Grinning, Hajime quickly lets the beetle off his palm, and stands up to walk home with his mother.

"Kaa-san*, can we throw a party instead of a feast?" He walks backwards with his hands clasped pleadingly in front of him, and his mother tilts her head, asking, "What's the difference?"

Slightly hesitant, Hajime turns to face the front and walks beside his mother. "I want cake instead of rice cake... I want to blow the candles and make a wish!"

The duo walk up the path as Hajime continues, shuffling his feet. "I think my wishes aren't coming true because it doesn't work with rice cakes."

He turns to look at his mom, who giggles and replies, "I never thought about that! I only got you rice cake because you like it. Okay then, let's throw parties starting this year! With cake and everything!"

Hajime's eyes light up. He loves rice cake, but last week his classmate had had a birthday party at school, and he'd brought cake and blown out the candles and Hajime had wondered if maybe wishes did come true, just not on rice cakes.

"Woah, kaa-san you're the best!" Akane smiles down at Hajime, always happy to see her son having excited. But then, Hajime sees something behind his mom, and exclaims, "A puppy!" before running to pet it.

"What? A puppy?" Curious, Akane turns, just to see her son crouching down and petting... thin air.

Hajime smiles, he often sees puppies, but not all of them are as nice as this one, or as pretty. The small puppy snuggles into his touch, enjoying the feeling of hands petting its smooth white fur.

Akane watches him with apprehension and fear in her eyes. She knows how distrusting society can be, especially to those who see things others don't, and she fears both for her child and for herself, because they are living on borrowed time and a flimsy miracle.

\---

Having just finished a day at school and some extra volleyball practice at the gym, Hajime ran up the pathway to the small house, slipping off his shoes and hurrying into the living room.

"Kaa-san, coach said my spikes are getting better!" His mother was seated at their small dining table, which had a cake with nine candles on it.

"I practiced a lot so I'm really tired." He shot a boyish grin at her, to which she responded by giggling and saying, "Is that right?"

Having set his bag down, he turned his full attention to his mother, and then noticed the cake in front of her. His eyes grew wide and he gasped, "It's a cake! Are we going to have a party now, kaa-san?"

Smiling, Akane nods, and says, "Yes. Come and have a seat. Light the candles too." Getting up, Hajime walks to the shelf where they kept the lighter, musing, "Am I allowed to light the candles?"

With a proud expression, Akane tells Hajime, "You're old enough to light the candles by yourself now, Hajime." Grinning, Hajime responds, "Right! I'm nine years old now!" And sits down in front of his mother with the lighter in his hands.

Carefully, he flicks the lighter until a flame appears, and lights all the candles while talking about how practice had went. Akane smiles, watching his brows furrow with concentration, and replies when she's prompted.

Hajime sets the lighter down and turns to look at his mother, smiling, but then the smoke from the candles wafts through the air and Hajime sees a flicker in her image.

The smile fades, and Akane leans forward slightly, confused and worried. "What's wrong? You should make your wish. Happy birthday, my little spiker!"

Despite his mother's playful tone and affectionate nickname, Hajime doesn't crack a smile, instead staring solemnly at her and saying, "You're not kaa-san."

Akane's smile falters, and tears start to gather in her eyes. Hajime takes a deep breath and continues, "You're not actually kaa-san, but kaa-san's soul."

The mother-son duo look at each other, tears in their eyes, for a few seconds before Akane hesitantly confirms, "You... really can see everything."

Hajime nods his head jerkily, and his mother continues, "I'd hoped you couldn't..." Hajime heaves a short breath and replies, "Kaa-san, did you die?" His question hangs in the air, and Akane flinches before nodding slowly.

Tears run down Hajime's cheeks, still round and chubby with the last remains of baby fat, and he stutters through his sobs, "Did-Did you r-really?" His face twists, and he tries to stop his tears, but Akane's next nod sets him off again.

"Where are you now? Where are you now, kaa-san?" Akane watches him with her own tears shimmering in her eyes, and she says, "I'm in the hospital at the intersection. You will get a call from the hospital. When you get there, your uncle will come soon."

Hajime sniffles and nods, trying to remember everything, and Akane continues, "It's cold at night, so wear your coat. Ask the old man at the grocery store to go with you. You can get to his house, right?"

"I have to go down the alley of the laundry shop–" he stops to sniffle and take in a shuddering breath "–and turn right at the end of the alley."

Akane breathes a relieved–or is it pained–sigh, and praises Hajime, "My spiker's so smart," but Hajime doesn't respond with his usual grin and laugh, instead continuing to stare at his mother with tear-filled, despairing eyes.

"From now on, never look spirits in the eye, ok?" Hajime sobs quietly, and nods his head vigorously.

"I'm sorry I can see them, kaa-san." He sniffles. "But because I can see them, I can see you now. So I'm okay." Akane holds back her own tears and replies shakily, "Okay... Thank you so much for seeing me."

The two of them sit with the cake forgotten, and they both cry because this is the last time they will see each other properly. "Hajime... kaa-san has to go now..." Her sobs punctuate her sentence, and each word is like a punch in the gut to Hajime, who starts sobbing again.

"I love you, Hajime." Hajime sobs loudly, and hurries to reply, "Me too. I love you too. Goodbye, kaa-san. Take care. You have to go to a good place. Okay, kaa-san? You have to."

Akane smiles through her tears, and the smoke from the candles seems to blend in with her body until the last hint of her image disappears, and Hajime lets out a broken cry, "Kaa-san!", left alone at the table with tears streaking down his cheeks and loss tearing at his heart.

As Hajime whimpers again for his mother, their house phone rings, and Hajime sniffles and crawls over to the shelf to answer it.

The person on the other end of the line asks, "Hello, is this Ms. Iwaizumi Akane's house? I'm calling from Yasuda Hospital located at the intersection."

Hajime sobs quietly, "I know. I'm coming." His voice is shaky but he doesn't wait to hear their response, hanging up the phone and fumbling for the red scarf beside it.

He sniffles and scrubs away his tears as he methodically puts on the scarf. Once he's wearing it securely, he turns and glimpses the cake. "I'm not going to make a wish. I'm not going to make any wishes. Nobody's granting my wishes. Who would I make wishes to?"

The words seem to be directed more at the cake than to himself, and the candles sizzle out one by one.

\---

Wrinkled hands methodically prepare vegetables to sell, and Akane smiles. "You never age." Sighing, the silver-haired man replies, "How can I get any older than this?"

Akane breathes a small laugh, "You have a point." She pauses for a bit to watch the old man searchingly before asking, "Can you check on Hajime from time to time?"

The old man casts a gaze at Akane, light brown eyes clear despite his age, and scoffs, "You wish. Why would I check on your son?" Akane tsks, scorned, and wheedles, "Just once in a while... give her some leftover cabbages and spinaches."

Brusquely, the old man says, "You should've just died that time. Why'd you have to live more?" And Akane furrows her brows. "You're so mean. You told me didn't you. To pray sincerely."

Practically rolling his eyes, the old man replies, "I can't believe someone actually took my word seriously." But Akane just smiles, and says, "Thanks to that, I got to live a little more."

"Thanks for everything, Suga-san. I came to say goodbye. I'm... leaving..."

\---

The front door of the Iwaizumi house opens with a click, and Hajime shuffles out, tear tracks on his face, closing the door behind him and starting down the lane purposefully.

But then he stops, and car lights illuminate the tall figure of a man in a black trench coat and fedora. "Who are you?"

The man tilts his head to one side, and blue eyes narrow. "Can you see me?" Hajime startles, remembering his mother's warning to not look any ghosts in the eye, and starts to turn back to the house, stammering, "Ah, my-my scarf. I forgot to wear my scarf. Mom's going to be upset."

A hand comes up, and the grim reaper points at the red scarf around Hajime's neck. "You're wearing your scarf." Hajime clutches the red fabric and squeezes his eyes shut, cursing his own stupidity.

"This is Iwaizumi Akane's house, right? I came here because she's not at the hospital." The man walks over to Hajime and continues, "By the way, you weren't supposed to be born."

Memories of the day the grim reaper came too late to reap two souls and found a pool of blood and cherry blossoms in the middle of winter flash through his head, and he asks, "By any chance, did you turn nine this year?"

Hajime sniffles quietly, and speaks as if to drown him out, "I can't hear your voice at all."

"By the way, what are you doing here?" Hajime looks up from the ground, confused, and turns to see the old man who sold vegetables, holding a cabbage.

"Go. Leave this girl." The old man watches the grim reaper.

"Oji-san!" Hajime runs to him and hides behind him, worried and afraid. The grim reaper sighs and turns to face them. "You're disturbing my work."

"You're talking nonsense. Why bring up what happened in the distant past?"

"Thank goodness I get to settle it at last. Now, I don't have much time–"

"That's your problem. Is this girl on your list? That baby was nameless, but this boy has a name. If you have a card with her name written on it, show me." The old man interrupts him like it's nothing, and holds out a hand for the name card. "Then I will hand her to you."

The grim reaper sighs and closes his eyes. When he opens them again, he says, "To get the support from the Department of Names, I need to submit the records from the past nine years. You know better."

The old man puts his hand down, and uses it to resolutely hold Hajime close to his side. The grim reaper huffs, and turns his gaze to Hajime, who puts on his best scary face despite how tightly he's gripping the old man's hand.

"I'll be seeing you again, little boy." Then, he casts one last deprecating gaze at the old man, and turns, disappearing in a shift of the air and a wisp of smoke.

Now, Hajime's sobs punctuate the yard, and he looks up at the old man, saying, "Jii-san, kaa-san is..." But the old man sighs and cuts him off gently, "I know. But you can't do anything about it. Worry about yourself."

He gestures at the house and continues, "You have to move in three days. Only then he won't be able to find you. Since you've had contact with a grim reaper, you can't live here."

Hajime's lips wobble, but he steels himself and asks, "Will he not be able to find me if I move?" The old man nods and says, "He won't," because he knows the child is scared, he knows the child is lost, he knows the child will lose everything he has known. And he is the only one who can help him through it.

"That's why where you live is important. After midnight, two men and one woman will come and find you at the funeral home. You should go with them." Hajime doesn't react, just stares resolutely at the old man with tear-filled eyes.

The old man sighs and looks to the side. "You will avoid a worse fate, so just go with them. They will take care of you." Finally, Hajime nods, and sniffles before asking, "By the way, why are you telling me this?"

The silver-haired man smiles gently at him and pats him on the head. "Because you're wonderful. When I was blessing your mother with you–" he wipes away Hajime's tears, "–I was happy."

He steps back and smiles, then hands Hajime the head of cabbage. "Here. It's your birthday present." Hajime cradles the cabbage in his arms, and the old man pats his head once more before turning and walking off.

Left feeling more alone than he had ever been, Hajime stood in the soon-to-be-not-his front lawn and hugged the cabbage to his chest.

\---

The house phone rings. "My credit card was suddenly denied! Oikawa, you know those rude men in suits at the bar right? I'm with those jerk- I'm with those gentlemen. Can you please pick up?"

Said man is sitting in his outdoor garden and reading a book about aliens.

"They asked me for your handphone number but I said you don't have a handphone. They were really rude to me! Oikawa, are you listening? Oikawa! Hey, Oikawa!"

\---

Now, the school bell rings. It's lunch, and class 3-5** is eating in their usual groups. That being said, Hajime is sitting at his desk in the back corner and eating alone.

"Wow, the last year of high school's almost over but he still eats alone." The classmate doesn't really mean any harm by his comment, but he backs off when his friend says, "Why don't you eat with him then?"

"What? No way, why would I do that? He sees ghosts." Hajime continues with his lunch, shovelling omurice*** into his mouth. "He scares me more than ghosts do."

The classmate continues even as the others try to divert the conversation elsewhere, "Look, he hears everything but pretends not to."

\---

It's raining outside when school is dismissed, and Hajime sighs as he dons his outside shoes and pulls up the hood of his cream coloured hoodie. Fiddling with his phone, he selects his favourite volleyball podcast, and starts to walk home.

As he walks down the lane, hands in his hoodie pockets, he passes a young man with messy black hair leaning against the wall. "Hey."

The man turns to watch Hajime as he walks by. "Hey. I heard you're the goblin's bride." He reappears in front of Hajime as he keeps on walking, quietly reciting the names of his favourite volleyball players under his breath as an extra measure to ignore the ghost.

"I know you can see me. Will you come with me? I feel so sad and lonely..." The ghost tries to plead, but Hajime just keeps on walking, heading steadfast in the direction of his home.

"Why are you ignoring me?" As Hajime keeps walking, the ghost scowls and appears directly in front of him, screeching, "You short jerk!" and widening his eyes and mouth.

Hajime startles to a stop and yanks out one of his earbuds, cursing, "Ah shit what the hell? I'm not short!" But the ghost just snorts and reappears behind him, "I knew it! You can see me."

Turning to glare at the cackling ghost, Hajime is about to cuss him out when the ghost suddenly stops laughing and stares ahead, shocked. "So it's all true... sorry. I'm really sorry. I really am."

When the ghost disappears, Hajime frowns and mutters to himself, "What was that about? Why did he suddenly apologise?" Shrugging, he turns to face the front and puts his earbud back in, continuing his walk home.

In front of him, a man with perfectly styled brown hair walks with a black umbrella open, and Hajime makes eye contact with him.

Thinking to himself, _what pretty brown eyes_ , Hajime quickly breaks the eye contact and heads onwards, brushing past him on the way, but the man's gaze follows him and his tattered turquoise messenger bag.

\---

Oikawa sits idly at the long dining table, lost in thought until the click of a lighter alerts him to the presence of another person. The old man lights the candles on the table, and asks, "What are you doing in the dark?" To which Oikawa smiles sheepishly and replies, "I was lost in some thoughts."

Carefully, the old man hands Oikawa a leather folder and says, "This is where you'll stay in Portland." When he opens the folder, Oikawa is greeted by a (obviously forged) passport and travel documents, as well as pictures of a nice house with a large garden.

Sighing, Oikawa murmurs, "I'm not so sure..." But the old man isn't having it, and he insists, "It is time, danna-sama."

When Oikawa raises his head to look at him, he continues, "Takahiro is 25 years old already. I told them to set things up. You leave at the end of the month." Nodding slowly, Oikawa looks back at the papers.

"...If you leave this time," Oikawa watches the old man again, "I will not see you again in this lifetime." The two of them look at each other, recalling the fond memories they had shared throughout their years together.

"I thank you for everything." The old man sighs, and replies, "By the time you return, Takahiro will be here." Oikawa nods slowly again and sighs.

An electronic melody plays and Oikawa turns to the old man, who says, "I keep misplacing my keys, so I had a new system installed."

The door unlocks, and Takahiro bursts in, calling, "Oji-san, Oikawa!" Shaking his head, he hurries down the steps and walks over to Oikawa, who just sighs and turns away. "Waah, here you are. I begged you to come and get me. Here you are."

His grandfather turns to him and scolds, "Do not interrupt when the adults are talking!" To which Takahiro replies, "Did you cancel my credit card? You did, didn't you?"

Scoffing, the old man just replies, "My secretary did." Sighing, Takahiro continues, "Do you know how embarrassed I was? I was with a lady! Why did you even make me–" he breaks off his sentence when he notices the leather folder, open on the table, and its contents.

"Oikawa, are you going somewhere?" As Oikawa turns to look at him, his grandfather scolds him once more, "I told you to speak politely to him!" But Takahiro doesn't heed him.

"Wait, oji-san. Is this about looking for your bride? Why can't you just say you want a foreign bride? Why can't you say so?" He raises his voice, but Oikawa just sighs, and says, "He'll be here when I get back?"

At a normal volume, Takahiro pursues, "Oikawa, exactly what time on what day will you leave?", and Oikawa puts his head in his palms, trying not to frown because it would create wrinkles.

\---

*kaa-san - yall probs know this but it means mom in a kinda informal way, lotsa kids call their moms like this in Japan.

**class 3-5 - well I searched it up and our iwachan is in third year of high school class five so here you go this is canon

***omurice - yes I know iwachan likes agedashi tofu but u cant rly bring it to school and well u'll see why he doesnt bring anything else

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes the ghost is kuroo  
> I'll be doing more in-depth stuff for him in the future, but for now that's his tiny cameo
> 
> Also hajime and Tooru first meeting!!! And yes hajime likes Tooru's eyes


	4. wishes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hajime's three wishes and some cute shit
> 
> bonus:  
> hajime's living conditions, Kageyama and Tooru being stupid kids and Takahiro has made a big mistake

The old alarm clock rings, and it startles Hajime out of sleep, who scrambles to turn it off before it could wake the others. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he checked to make sure his cousin, who he treated like a sister, Yachi, was still sleeping, and assured that she was undisturbed, he makes the futon and changes into his school uniform.

Rolling up the sleeves of his dark brown hoodie, Hajime gets to work making breakfast for his family, which consisted of his uncle, his uncle's boyfriend, and his cousin.

After tasting the miso soup, Hajime hums to himself, and starts making tamagoyaki*. Soon enough, the table is set, and he calls, "Breakfast is ready!" as he packs a small bento for school.

When no one appears, Hajime frowns and repeats, "I said, breakfast is ready!" Which leads to his uncle's boyfriend, Keishin, sauntering into the room smelling of smoke and taking a seat.

"Oho, Hajime, up early huh? Better get to the gym before morning practice or coach'll make you run extra." Hajime rolls his eyes and says, "As if I'm ever late for practice," before heaping his plate and starting to eat.

Soon enough, a frazzled looking Yachi rushes in, followed closely by her father. As they sit down next to each other and yawn almost simultaneously, Hajime snorts at the undeniable resemblance.

Halfway through the meal, Hajime's uncle, Ittetsu, jerks upright as if remembering something, and nearly chokes on his mouthful of rice. Raising an eyebrow, Keishin pats him on the back to try to help, but the movements seem more like spikes than pats, and Ittetsu rocks forward a few times.

"Ah, I just remembered, the school offered me an exchange program to go and teach Japanese in America for five years with all-expenses-covered living..." Keishin tilts his head, and Hajime and Yachi profess their congratulations, Yachi bouncing in her seat (she's liked America ever since she found out they ended classes at 3 and didn't have any cram schools).

"The offer also extends to family and spouses, so Yachi will go to high school there, but the thing is..." Ittetsu looks at the table, and Hajime feels a twist in his gut. "...Hajime won't be able to go with us."

The room goes silent for a moment, and Hajime focuses on the ticking of the clock instead of his family's stares. Clearing his throat, Hajime says, "It's fine, I'm almost done with high school anyways, and I can always get a job and pay for most of my expenses. Besides, Yachi loves America, so you better bring her there."

He knows Ittetsu will feel infinitely guilty, but he gives him a pointed look and chomps another large bite. "Of course, I'll send back any money I can... but, Hajime, are you sure?"

Nodding, Hajime replies, "I'll be fine. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity anyways, and I can take care of myself now." With that, the matter is resolved, and Yachi continues eating with barely contained excitement as Keishin watches Hajime with a slight frown.

Hajime finishes his meal quickly, and sets his dishes in the sink. It's Yachi's turn to do the dishes, because he has practice and can't afford to be late. Making sure he has everything in his book bag and volleyball bag, he says, "Well, I'll be off now."

The others answer with varying degrees of enthusiasm, Yachi piping back a "Have a safe trip," while Keishin nods and Ittetsu waves because his mouth is full.

Pushing open the door, Hajime pauses when he realises it's raining, and looks at the lone umbrella they have. Biting his lip, Hajime sighs and pulls up the hood of his jacket instead before stepping out and hurrying to school.

\---

When Hajime arrives at practice, he's early as usual, and he quickly changes and starts warming up. Coach enters the gym only a bit after Hajime, and they start practice.

Training goes as usual, with Hajime doing what coach told him and overall not interacting very much with the other members of the team, who avoided him because he was 'scary' and 'weird'. He slips up a few times, still a bit preoccupied with the revelation at breakfast, so coach calls him out for extra drills.

The bell rings just as Hajime makes it into class, and he slumps down at his desk with a sigh, mostly unnoticed by everyone else. Class starts, and when a worksheet lands on his desk and he moves to write the date, he's hit with a sudden realisation.

It's the tenth of June, his birthday, and he's unwillingly launched back into a memory from nine years ago, of a scared boy in front of a tall stranger.

Shaking his head, he scowls and focuses back on the present, trying to pay attention to the teacher and not on the day he lost his first home.

The day passes slowly, and Hajime is more irritated than usual at the fact that he doesn't have any friends to eat and play volleyball with, or even just a setter friend so he could practice spiking in his own time.

\---

It's after school, but Hajime doesn't head straight home. Instead, he stops by a bakery and asks his friend, Asahi, who worked part-time there, for one of their extra cupcakes and a candle.

After that, he heads to the rocky outcrop near the ocean, where he sits and puts the candle on the cupcake.

Meanwhile, in a field of flowers, Tooru sits on a bench, turning a small bouquet of sunflowers over in his hands.

Sighing, Hajime looks down at the cupcake, a bit misshapen, but otherwise good enough, and the one candle on it. Carefully balancing the cupcake on his lap, he reaches for the red scarf his mother had given him exactly nine years ago, and puts in on.

Holding a lighter in his hands, Hajime looks out to the ocean, and holding a bouquet of flowers, Tooru looks out to the field.

\---

"But danna-sama, will you be leaving alone yet again?" The old man and Tooru sit across each other on sofas, and Tooru sighs, mumbling glumly, "It looks like it. None of the maidens I met could see the sword."

Contrastingly, the old man seems happy, replying, "I am relieved," which piques Tooru's interest as he raises a brow at him. "When I see you in pain because of your sword, I wish you would find your bride quickly, but when I see you like this, I wish no one would know."

Tooru watches him evenly, and the old man scoffs at himself, muttering, "Human beings are greedy." Sitting forward in his seat, Tooru locks eyes with the old man and says, "I am relieved as well. You are still by my side, and I have plenty of alcohol."

He glances humorously at the decanter of cognac on the table between them, and smiles at the old man. "I'd like to live at least tonight."

The old man chuckles, and pours out the alcohol into the two cups. "Cheers to that." They clink glasses and laugh together, and Tooru remembers the day he turned legal and they went to a bar to drink. It has been many years since then.

\---

Now, Tooru paces the field, enjoying the slight breeze and the myriad of scents that came with it.

Hajime flicks the lighter to life, and carefully lights the one candle. Setting the lighter aside, Hajime holds the cupcake gently in his hand, and says, "When I turned nine, I decided never to do this again, but it's urgent. Please understand."

He feels like an idiot, sitting there alone and hoping some divine being hears him, but he closes his eyes and clasps his hands together in front of him. "Please let me find a stable high-paying job, a good setter and volleyball team, and a nice, cheap place to stay!"

Far away, a tall brunette pauses in a field of flowers and turns to look into the distance. He hears something in the empty field, and turns to the distance, closing his eyes to listen closely.

_"Help me find a job, a good setter, and a place to stay!"_

Having repeated the three wishes a few times, Hajime sighs and unclasps his hands, scowling and talking to himself, "What am I doing? To whom am I even praying? Deities don't exist..."

As he stares at the water, thunder rumbles overhead, and he looks up to see dark clouds forming. Grimacing, he hurriedly blows out the candle on the cupcake.

Tooru feels a strange tingling at his fingertips, and looks down, confused, to see his body dissipating into smoke. _Wait, am I dying or are aliens abducting me?_

"Is it really going to rain now on top of everything?" Hajime scowls and yells at nothing in particular, "Is this a thunderstorm or a monsoon? Will the rain ever stop? We only have one umbrella, and coach will make me do drills outside even if it's in the middle of a typhoon!"

Stopping his rant, Hajime bites his lip and stares down at his misshapen, cold, cupcake. "Was it you?" Startled, he turns his head a bit too quickly, and his head spins before he focuses on the figure a few metres away.

Squinting, he turns to look at his surroundings again, the tall man wearing expensive clothes couldn't be addressing him, could he? But he's the only other person there, and asks curiously, "Me?"

The strange man stands there, staring at Hajime and holding...wait a second that was very weird...a bouquet of sunflowers on a rocky outcrop in Minamikasai**.

Clearing his throat, Hajime shuffles to his feet, carefully setting the cupcake down, and repeats, "Me?" Before looking around once more, confused, and continuing, "Were you talking to me?"

The brunette looks confused as well, but he replies at last, "Yes, you. Was it you?" Tilting his head to the side, Hajime frowns and asks, "What?"

"Did you call me here?" The man looks a bit huffy, so Hajime hurries to try and clear up whatever misunderstanding had apparently happened. "Me? I didn't call you..."

Cutting him off, the man says, "Yes you did. How did you do it?" Annoyed at having been interrupted, Hajime replies, "How could I? I really didn't call you out."

Shaking his head condescendingly, the man says, "You definitely did." He narrows his eyes. "Think about it. How did you do it?" Suddenly, Hajime recognises his brown eyes, and realises what must have happened.

Raising an eyebrow, Hajime rocks back on his heels and replies, "Desperately?" But the man (Hajime was going to dub him weirdo since he didn't know his name) just pouts, which seems weird if you think about it, but to Hajime it was stupidly endearing.

"I didn't call you out. I just see you, that's all. Because our eyes met by mistake on the street that time. That was you, right?" The weirdo now looks even more confused, and says, "What do you mean, you see me?"

Sighing, Hajime says, "You're a ghost. I see ghosts." He's had to explain this more times than he'd care to admit, and so when the weirdo replies, "I'm not a ghost," he just rolls his eyes and mumbles, "They all say that at first."

Focusing back on the weirdo, Hajime notices that his caramel brown eyes are unerringly trained on him, and that when the wind blew his hair back he looked kinda stupid. "What are you?"

Hajime isn't expecting the sudden, and kinda rude, question, so he takes a while to gather his thoughts, but before he can answer the weirdo's already asking another question.

"Why do I not see anything that I should normally see?" Curiosity piqued, Hajime asks, "What should you see?" But he doesn't expect the weird answer.

"Your future at age 20, 30, and so forth." Sighing, he shrugs and says, "I must not have a future. Were you a shaman before you died or something? Or a con man?" The weirdo blinks a few times, eyes _stupidly big and shiny and cute wait no._

"Future? Give me a break." Kicking halfheartedly at the ground, Hajime tries to distract himself from the all too good-looking man in front of him, but when he asks more questions he has no choice but to look back at him.

"What? What did you just say?" It's stuttered out, and the man looks taken aback and confused, while Hajime leans forward, curses his height, and says, "Go to a good place. It isn't good to wander for too long."

It's become a bit of a standard saying in his eighteen years of life, but Hajime still smiles when he says it because he feels better now, having looked at a cute guy, albeit a ghost.

The weirdo seems lost for words, staring at him, and so Hajime avoids his gaze by looking around, and coincidentally notices the flowers again. Close up, they don't really look like sunflowers, more like miniature ones. "But what are the flowers for?"

Suddenly defensive, the weirdo pouts and says, "Why are you asking? You said to leave." To which Hajime looks aside and replies offhandedly, "Fine. Go, then."

"Nitobe chrysanthemum***." His pout gets bigger _(and undeniably cuter)_ as he says it, giving in to Hajime, who smirks and says, "That's not what I'm asking. Why are you holding them?"

Embarrassed, the weirdo flushes and glances at the bouquet, then back at Hajime, who raises an eyebrow, before shoving the flowers at Hajime, who stares at it with wide eyes until the weirdo starts to put them down, at which he grabs the flowers from him, flushing.

Trying to hide his blush, Hajime turns the flowers over in his hands, wondering, "But what does the nitobe chrysanthemum mean?"

When he looks up at the weirdo after a few seconds of silence, he's shocked and slightly delighted to see a blush coating his handsome features. "You find that out yourself. But I usually take it as the same meaning as the sunflower."

Confused as to why he wasn't properly answering him, Hajime peers closer at the weirdo, only to see that he's blushing even harder now, and scratching his cheek awkwardly. He looks back at the bouquet and smiles to himself, making a mental note to go search it up when he got back home.

"Why were you yelling?" The weirdo seems to have recovered from his temporary switch to being a tomato, and he watches Hajime with his head tilted adorably to one side, continuing, "A job, a good setter, and a place to stay. Which of the three?"

Now that the weirdo seems to be talking business, Hajime stands up straighter and asks, "How did you know that?" To which the brunette replies, "I heard you."

Confused again, Hajime shifts on his feet and says, "What do you mean, you heard me?" The weirdo draws himself up and smirks, and to Hajime it looks like he's puffing out his chest, as he replies, "I grant people's wishes at times."

Surprised, Hajime's eyes widen, and he looks closer at the weirdo, asking, "You grant people's wishes? Like a genie? Or a guardian?"

Self-satisfied and proud, the man nods sagely, and Hajime says, "Really? No wonder... you seemed different from other ghosts when I first saw you. Are you really my guardian?"

A bit taken aback at Hajime's bold words and smirk, Tooru deflates a bit and mumbles, "I never said I was." But Hajime plows on, determined to get something out of the weirdo's apparent power.

"My mom said everyone is born with their own dictionary. My dictionary... doesn't have words like 'friendship' or 'luck', no matter how hard I look." Tooru shifts a bit on his feet, and Hajime raises an eyebrow at him, continuing, "You understand what I mean, right?"

"Not really..." The weirdo looks away, trying to avoid Hajime's stare. "I mean, can you give me like 5,000 dollars or something?" Biting his lip, Tooru's gaze wanders as Hajime continues, "If cash is hard, maybe the number to the lottery? Something like that."

Suddenly, Tooru says, "Work hard at the volleyball center, you'll get it. The people there will be good friends," before taking one last look at Hajime and walking off, dissipating into a cloud of turquoise smoke halfway down the outcrop.

"Hey! What about my home? Hello? Hey!" He calls out multiple times, but it really is just him on the outcrop, and the weirdo is gone. "How rude..."

\---

Tooru closes the door of his home with a clatter, trying to draw attention so that someone would attend to his foul mood. Walking to the living area, he carefully sweeps his brown locks off his forehead, only to see someone who was very much not welcome in his home.

The grim reaper wandered around the living area, holding a piece of paper and wearing his work clothes. Narrowing his eyes, Tooru focuses on the paper as he steps into the living area, his polished leather shoes clacking on the marble floor.

At the sound of his footsteps, the grim reaper turns to him and says, confused, "We've met," to which Tooru raises an eyebrow, stepping closer, and replies, "We have."

Unmoving, the grim reaper continues, "I've heard a lot about you," but Tooru dismisses it with a wave of his hand and a drawl, "It's mostly white lies."

Stopping in front of the grim reaper, Tooru addresses him head on now, asking, "Why are you in my home?" Surprisingly, the grim reaper's eyes widen comically, and he questions, "You live here?"

At that moment, Takahiro walks out of the kitchen, holding a small tray with two cups of tea on it, and says, "We'll leave the furniture, so you can move in..." He trails off when he notices his uncle standing in front of his tenant, and tries to salvage the situation with a sheepish smile.

He shuffles to Tooru and holds out the tea tray, mumbling, "When did you get home, Oikawa?" Taking one of the cups of tea, Tooru raises an eyebrow at the grim reaper, who side eyes Takahiro.

Gesturing at the grim reaper with the cup, Tooru says curtly, "Explain," before sipping from the cup as Takahiro says, "Oikawa, I mean, the house will be empty for 20 years anyway, so I was curious, purely innocently–" at that, Tooru side eyes Takahiro as well, "–about how much rent that amount would be..."

His argument trails off, and he fidgets with the tea tray, trying to find a way out of the deep trouble he's landed himself in. Sighing, Tooru says, "Do you even know what you brought into my home? That thing is–"

The grim reaper's eyes flash up, and he's about to interject when Takahiro, surprisingly, steps in first, saying, "Don't call our tenant that!" Taken aback, Tooru narrows his eyes at Takahiro, who continues, "He's going to open a tea shop."

Tooru and the grim reaper lock eyes for a moment, but then Takahiro speaks again, this time to the grim reaper, saying, "I'm sorry, this guy doesn't go out very often. Have some tea!"

Twisting his face into some semblance of a smile, the grim reaper awkwardly accepts the cup, mumbling, "Thanks," under his breath. Holding the tea tray to his chest, Takahiro shuffles over to Tooru and stage whispers in his ear, "I didn't get the money yet."

Turning to face Takahiro with a disbelieving look, Tooru replies, "I saw a new car outside," and Takahiro just bites his lip and steps back before attempting, "It's the tenant's car."

However, Takahiro's doomed plan is thwarted by the grim reaper and his stupidly good hearing. "It's not my car. As for the money–" Takahiro shuffles quietly out of the living room and makes a run for the door, "I already gave it to him."

Unbothered by Takahiro's escape, Tooru scoffs and says, "Then I'll give the money back. You can go now," but the grim reaper scowls and rebuts, "That doesn't matter," holding up the piece of paper. "I already signed the lease."

In a flash, the corner of the paper bursts into flames, Tooru having made a finger gun and mimed shooting it. Glaring at Tooru, the grim reaper drops the paper as Tooru says offhandedly, "I hope that wasn't anything important."

"That was a copy. The original is with the realtor. I'll move in tomorrow. It's supposed to be a lucky day." Tooru's eyebrow twitches, and he sighs, giving up. "If you're done, go. The best I can treat you is that tea."

Shifting on his feet, the grim reaper puts his free hand in his pocket and looks around, saying, "Go and pack up. It'll take a while if you're packing for 20 years." Now, Tooru's eyes narrow, and he says airily, "You want to upset a goblin, is that it?"

But the grim reaper just looks up at him from under his long bangs, shooting back, "You should know what it means to sign a contract with a grim reaper. I don't mind taking that boy instead of this house."

Tooru's jaw clenches, he might not seem very fond of the irritating boy who never addressed him formally, but Takahiro is part of his family, so he replies, "I guess I have no choice. We have a lot of empty rooms, so pick one. Make yourself at home."

He ends with a lazy fake smile, but the grim reaper plows on, "It's my home," which makes Tooru say, "It's _my_ home," and so on and so forth like squabbling children until Tooru says with his jaw clenched, "It's my home. You can try to kick a goblin out from its cave. Good luck."

\---

*tamagoyaki - it's basically an omelet, a common side dish in Japan

**minamikasai - it's a town in Japan, Tokyo, and I just randomly picked a place because I don't really know and it's close to the ocean

***nitobe chrysanthemum - also known as Mexican sunflower, it looks a bit like a small sunflower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chrysanthemums overall symbolise longevity, fidelity, joy and optimism but sunflowers symbolise adoration, loyalty and longevity and deal with beauty, delight, hope and joy so I just wanted to put that there (also because sunflowers and hinata, yknow the sun yeah lol)
> 
> This chapter is only 14 min of the actual drama rip but I wanted to add more detail to hajime and Tooru's meeting, dialogue, etc.
> 
> Yay yall got more background info on Hajime! Woot! And yeah I changed the background story cuz I just dont see hajime putting up with an abusive family like that so yeah you get some nice family dynamics lol
> 
> From here on out its gonna change more from the original tv series so yey look forward to that I guess lol
> 
> also, Kageyama moves into Oikawa's house!! (Bickering and being babies will continue in the next chapter :P )


	5. volleyball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ok so i know ive disappeared off the face of the earth here ahahahha but school work killed me last year and i kinda lost motivation to write properly,,,, now i feel bad so here's what i had of chapter 5! its definitely not at all a big update but im going to pause here for now since i have no time to be obsessively rewatching goblin to try and figure out plot points ahah,, i might be writing random one-shots for other fandoms and iwaoi as well though, and ill probably come back and add in random bits when im free and ready! anyways enjoy this tiny update because itll be the last one for a while...

It's lunch, and for once Tooru isn't eating alone, although he isn't very happy with his dining partner either when the grim reaper pauses while eating his salad to call Tooru and his steak 'barbaric'.

Grimly cutting the expensive meat into bite-sized pieces, Tooru fires back, "Just like the rumor, your diet looks indecent," and the reaper's dark blue eyes narrow before looking at his plate, and then, more importantly, the pepper shaker next to it.

Slamming his hand on the table, the reaper watches with a smirk as the shaker flies through the air to land with unerring accuracy in Tooru's cup of water.

Tooru pauses to look at it with a glare, and the grim reaper just says, "Oh. My mistake," which moves Tooru's glare from the cup to his face. "I was trying to pepper my food," it's said with a fake smile that looks more like a grimace than anything else, and Tooru winces.

Slowly, deliberately, he rests his knife on the side of the bottle of red chili flakes, and with a flick of his wrist sends it spinning into the pureed vegetables in the reaper's plate. The lid clatters to a rest on the table, and the plate is a sea of red.

"Oh. My mistake." The reaper glares sullenly at Tooru, who just smiles pleasantly and continues, "I was trying to put it on you," at which the reaper drops his utensils with a clatter and asks, "What?"

Not missing a beat, Tooru shrugs and answers, "I thought we agreed on being rude. This," he gestures at the cup and the pepper, "that," the plate covered in chili flakes, "oh yeah, and you." He stares straight into the grim reaper’s eyes.

Tooru grins, pleased with himself, and the reaper just scowls, jaw clenching.

\---

That night, Hajime sighs, slumping in his chair after finishing his last piece of homework. When he glances at the clock, he's pleasantly surprised to find that it's still quite early, and he has some free time before he has to go to sleep.

Eyes drifting over his table, they stop when reaching the bouquet from earlier, now in the tallest cup he could find, and Hajime chuckles when remembering the strange meeting with the weirdo/genie/ghost.

Picking up his phone, he decides to search up the meaning of the nitobe chrysanthemum, as well as the sunflower, and when the search results pop up, he flushes.

I mean, who wouldn't? Apparently, sunflowers meant adoration, loyalty and longevity, and Hajime couldn't help feeling like a stupid lovesick fool when he reached out to stroke the vibrant petals of the flowers.

Now that he had remembered the encounter, he also remembered their parting words, or rather his parting words, and decides to go and apply for the job at the volleyball center the next day after school.

There's really only one volleyball center nearby, but Hajime hadn't known that they'd been hiring, so when he approaches the building, he's pleased to see a 'Now Hiring' sign, and requirements that he definitely passes.

The problem is when he gets inside and is greeted by a line of people waiting to be interviewed. Anxiety hits him like a freight train, and he's about to back out of the building when he remembers the weirdo's words, especially his "you'll get it," and he sighs and joins the line.

It's a while of waiting and twelve stages of Candy Crush before he gets to sit, and halfway through a game of Sudoku, a hand pats him on the shoulder and gestures for him to move along into the room. Mumbling his thanks, Hajime flushes and pockets his phone before knocking on the door and heading in.

To say the best, the interview is awkward. He doesn't know how to respond to most of their questions, and the fifteen minutes comprise mostly of silences and fidgeting.

Sighing, Hajime leaves the office with a business card and a feeling of being cheated, since the weirdo had told him he would get it but he most definitely would not, and also slightly disappointed, like he'd been expecting the weirdo to be right and being offered the job straightaway.

Mentally cursing his naivety, he reminds himself that the ghost was probably just playing a prank on him and that nothing good came without a price, and if it did it was a lie.

The walk home is lonely, or well Hajime tried to make it. The annoying ghost was back, and honestly was his hair just like that when he died or was it always like that? Because Hajime was very close to slamming a helmet onto the stupid guy’s head to see if it would make his hairstyle more decent. Hopefully, it would also give him a concussion.

Well, it wasn’t like he could do that anyways, he was a ghost after all. But seriously, did he have no rivals to haunt, or like no family members to visit, so he could just hang around and pester lil’ ghost-seeing Hajime?

Then apparently, the ghost can read minds now, because he says, “Oh yeah, no I don’t have any rivals to haunt, my… ex-boyfriend? Are we still dating if I’m dead? I guess not, right? Well, he made me promise to not bother him, so… and like I never knew my dad, my mom’s already in heaven, and I’m an only child.”

Hajime did not need to know his sad background story. Goddamn him and his stupid habit of saying his thoughts aloud. “I mean, I would have gone to see how my ex-boyfriend was doing, but I can’t find him anywhere… do you think he died too? I hope not, like, I wanted him to be happy, y’know?”

Oh, lookie there, a poster, and another poster, and… wait a second, is that a volleyball on the poster? Focusing more on the very yellow poster, Hajime comes to the conclusion that, well, apparently there’s a new volleyball center in town. And it’s hiring.

Slowing to a halt (he didn’t really need to, the posters lined the whole street), Hajime quickly takes down the information on the poster, wondering if maybe this was the volleyball center the weirdo had said he’d get the job at.

The ghost reappears at his side, having continued down the street for a bit before realizing Hajime had stopped, and peers at the poster too. “Oh, you like volleyball? Hah, small world!” at this, he raises a hand for a high five, and Hajime pointedly ignores him.

“No? Oh, I get it! You can’t high five me anyways, haha, y’know, cuz I’m dead I guess…” the ghost trails off (finally! Hajime does an internal hurrah), shuffling around as best as he can, considering he is a ghost, and levitating slightly off the ground.

“Well, I was the captain of my high school and junior high school, y’know? Went to nationals almost every year! My ex-boyfriend played too, we were kind of a duo, like, since we were kids, y’know?”

Having taken down the contact information, Hajime continues walking, with the ghost still trailing behind him and talking his ear off to the best of his ability. 

When he finally reaches home (it wasn’t really a long walk, it had just seemed like it because the ghost really never stopped talking), Hajime’s hit with the realization that soon, his family will be moving out.

Yachi and Ittetsu have already started packing, and slowly, the little things that made the small bungalow home, were disappearing, packed away into boxes or suitcases.

His shared room with Yachi seems just that bit more barren, more lacking, witout her art supplies strewn everywhere and her clothes filling a good four fifths of the closet.

The first thing he does after showering and changing is to start on his homework, sifting through the various worksheets and practice papers that had been stuffed into his bag. He works with his headphones in, playing soft jazz so he doesn’t get distracted.

Every so often, he glances up at the chrysanthemums, standing innocently in their cup and yet so distracting. After half an hour of slogging through his work and bouts of staring at the chrysanthemum (with a small smile playing on his lips, though he’d hit you if you mentioned it), Hajime decides to head to the kitchen to make something to eat.

\---

a/n

As you can see, im not addressing Kageyama by his name cuz even though yall know its him alrdy hes not supposed to know his name (no one is) until like the end so its just gonna be a lot of confusing pronouns sorry 

And yes asshole Tooru plus hinata's debut and more characters + side ships cuz I have a crap ton of ships and I dont want to leave any out lol sorry

Oh and about the kuroo thingy, Kenma will appear later, and yall will find out why kuroo cant find him then (yes kuroken is a thing here no im not sorry)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yup yup im going on hiatus for now ahah 
> 
> you might have realised i changed my username,,, my old username was just so cringey im sorry,,,, anyways u can find me on twt @everly_2 lol i hope yall enjoyed this fic despite how short it was n im thankful for u guys reading it to here!

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I know Ushijima is OOC but pls idk who else to put for the evil dude. And yes it's very very close to the original plot of the drama at first but you'll see it changes a lot.


End file.
